Team Fenson loses lead

According to the Associated Press, "lead John Shuster wants to skip his own team, so he's leaving the squad that Pete Fenson, of Bemidji, Minn., captained to third place in the 2006 Games. Shuster had been with Fenson since the start of the 2003-04 season."

The Duluth-Supererior article (linked through the above headline) states the team is "splitting up" but it doesn't say what the rest of the team members are doing next season.

Not that I'm downplaying the importance of a lead, as I'm fully versed in the total team dynamic, but losing their lead and splitting up are very different.

It will be interesting to see the remaining team shake-ups as the first year of the Olympic four-year plan begins in the quest to "represent" in Vancouver in 2010.